


The Effect Designed

by sheankelor



Series: The Billow Effect [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-12
Updated: 2014-09-12
Packaged: 2018-02-17 02:45:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2294060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheankelor/pseuds/sheankelor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just how did Snape's trademark billow get its start?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Effect Designed

**Author's Note:**

> Slytherin66 inspired this plot bunny to come visit me.

It was rampant all about the school. During the last month before summer vacation it was the worst. Everyone had to have a way to make themselves stand out. Spells were employed to make their uniforms flash different colors, to make them appear to be invisible in select spots, or to float about them. The students had to be really careful where they made the invisible patch appear at.

 

Of course, there was another part of the trend as well. Trying to ruin the effect. It was equally common to cause someone's chosen spell to be canceled entirely or to be changed into something else.

 

That was why Severus never tried to do anything. The only spell on his robes was a spell nulling field he had investigated and modified earlier that school year. It only affected spell cast at him. He had cast it the day after the Marauders made his robes rotate between all the colors of the rainbow slowly. He wasn't going to make it easy for them to insult him again.

 

スネイプ

 

Severus ran a contemplative hand down the material. There had to be a way to get the effect that he wanted without a spell. The teen leaned back against the wall in his bedroom. Outside he could hear the crickets singing in the summer evening.

 

_'The weight of the material definitely has something to do with it. The lighter the material the more it floats instead of billows. And I do not want to have floating robes.'_

 

Leaning over , he hefted the edge of the curtain, trying to judge its weight. It was then that he felt the weights sewn into the bottom hem. A stiff breeze came through the open window, catching the other curtain that was in its path.

 

Severus watched as the material billowed out from the window, but didn't flutter in the wind. The bottom stayed down and the curtain acted like a sail. A contemplative look slowly took over his face.

 

スネイプ

 

His fingers hurt from the number of pokes that he had given himself, but he had successfully altered one robe. He had added a length of industrial strength ball chain into the bottom hem.

 

Putting the robe on, he spun about and tried to recreate the billow that he wanted. It kind of worked. Scowling, he tried to determine what he needed to do now.

 

Severus turned back to the curtains to learn more about their secrets. It was then that he noticed the stiffness of the material.

 

Shedding the robe, he went in search of the Traditional Laundry Starch that Mum kept to press Dad's shirts.

 

スネイプ

 

It took a little while for him to learn how to use the starch correctly, but once he did, the difference was noticeable. The fabric was much stiffer, giving more resistance to the wind.

 

Slipping the robe on one more time, Severus strode across his room, spinning on his heel as he reached the wall. He could feel the material moving about him, billowing in the breeze created by his stride.

 

_'And not one spell was needed.'_

 

Carefully removing the robe, he set it aside. Now he had to modify the rest of his wardrobe. He would be ready for next year. The Marauders wouldn't be able to destroy this style change easily.


End file.
